I wonder when the NIAA will get things right, especially when it comes to boys basketball.
I looked at Carson’s schedule the other day, and because of tournament commitments and football playoffs, the schedule looks like a jigsaw puzzle. The two season-opening games against Reno and Reed have been pushed back to Dec. 29 and Dec. 30, respectively.
We go through this every year with the same result. When are the coaches, athletic directors and administrators going to get a clue?
The problem is tryouts are Nov. 14, and teams who go deep into the football playoffs, usually, Reed, Reno and Carson, don’t have their full rosters and practice time together until the second or third week of December, placing them at a severe disadvantage.
Why is it a disadvantage? Because in their infinite wisdom, the NIAA decides to play games the first week of December that actually count in the standings. It’s idiotic. Early December games are non-league everywhere but Nevada. When I was in high school, and yes I know that was a million years ago, league games weren’t played until after Christmas break. That type of scheduling gives teams a chance to set their rotation in meaningless games.
There are several ways to make this right, but nobody seems to want to step up and make it happen.
My first suggestion is to play three-game weeks a few times a year (Tuesday-Friday-Saturday) which means you could start games that count later in December, and not right off the bat. There used to be Saturday games several years ago, but for some reason they went away. Did they go away because administrators didn’t want to work on weekends? If that’s the case, shame on them. Besides, playing on Saturdays means kids aren’t missing classes to go to games and transportation isn’t an issue. The way Washoe County complains about transportation issues, why not play strictly on Fridays and Saturdays only?
Oh wait, that makes way too much sense, and I keep forgetting we’re in Nevada.
My second suggestion is to make the crossover games (High Desert vs. Sierra) just nonleague games and nothing else. If they don’t count, coaches wouldn’t have a problem keeping the schedule in its current state. Reed and Carson could play with partial teams (varsity and JV kids combined). In this format, the only games that would count are the games against Sierra League opponents in Carson’s case.
My third suggestion is basketball become one big league like baseball. It works well for baseball. Can anybody explain why it wouldn’t work for basketball? Teams would play 22 league games and one tournament.
I’m not sure who’s deciding on the schedule, but the coaches should have the final say. Most administrators (principals, vice principals, deans) have no sports knowledge and superintendents, if they get a say, have even less. Put the decisions in the hands of the people closest to the situation.